Ghost Town Danger
by Yankee01754
Summary: The guys are off to the Lazy M again. This time they're going to explore ghost towns with Cayce who has time on her hands. Thanks to Deb for her help in getting Cody's actions in the mine right. For Tinx who seems to love my stories (though I don't know why).


Ghost Town Danger

By Yankee 01754

As the police led the gang of art thieves, which was also responsible for the death of a security guard at a local mansion, toward the waiting cruisers, the ringleader turned toward the men responsible for their capture.

With a look of pure hatred he yelled, "You guys are dead! You hear me?"

Nick Ryder just glared back at the man. His partner, Cody Allen, did the same. The third member of the Riptide Detective Agency, Murray Bozinsky, was too busy writing notes and giving his statement, to notice.

It was he who had posed as the wealthy potential buyer of stolen art that had exposed the thieves and brought the police down on them.

It was toward him that many of the threats were directed but anybody who wanted to harm the scientist would have to go through Nick and Cody first – not an easy thing to do.

"Ready to go home, Boz?" Cody asked.

"Yes, if you're given your statements," Murray replied.

"We have," Nick told him.

The three men walked to Cody's modified Jimmy and climbed in. Pulling out of the parking lot, Cody headed toward the waterfront and the boat they called home – the Riptide.

Allen parked the truck in its regular spot and the three men started toward Pier 56, and Slip 7, where the Riptide was moored.

As they approached they noticed a figure clad in jeans, cowboy boots, green shirt and denim jacket with a brown Stetson pulled low over their face, sitting in a deck chair with their feet propped up on the rail. The hat made it impossible to tell if it was a man or a boy. Most people would have said it was a boy due to the slight figure – even smaller than Murray who was very slender himself. The men could see that a book was on the deck next to the chair.

Actually, it was neither a man nor a boy, and the Riptide detectives knew it because there was only one person that would be found hanging out on the Riptide dressed like that.

"Looks like someone got lost on their way to the rodeo," Nick said with a nudge to Cody's ribs.

"Either that or cowboys have turned to stealing boats instead of horses or cows," Cody grinned.

The jean clad figure didn't budge but commented, "If I'd wanted to steal this here tub I'd have been gone long before you got back."

"Tub?! That's an insult to my boat!" Cody exclaimed indignantly, much as Nick would have if the comment had been about his beloved helicopter – the Screaming Mimi.

"Let's help them off the boat," Nick said, his blue eyes dancing with mischief.

"Make them walk the plank?" Cody asked.

"Or string 'im up as they used to say," Nick responded.

"Guys!" Murray didn't have the same sense of humor – especially considering who the intended target was.

"Don't worry about me, Murray," the voice of a young woman came from under the hat. "They'll be the ones walking the plank if they try anything - only there won't be a plank. They'll just fly over the railing like they were shot out of a cannon."

The boot shod feet came off the rail and the young woman stood up, pushing the hat to the back of her head. Grinning she said, "Hi guys!"

Cody was the first to reach her once they'd helped Murray board without benefit of the small staircase that was settled in front of the door to the main salon.

"Hi Cayce," he said and he hugged, and then released her.

Nick was next. Barely an inch taller than Cayce, who was five feet eleven inches, he grabbed her in a bear hug and tugged on her medium length braid as he released her. He got his hand slapped for his trouble but that was part for the course. He always pulled on a braid or a ponytail and she always slapped his hand.

"Hi Boz," she said as the scientist finally got his turn to greet her. "How are you? These two clowns treating you okay?"

"Clowns?" Nick asked. "We're clowns?"

"They're treating me just fine," Bozinsky told her.

"Good. You let me know if they don't and I'll come down and beat them to a pulp for you."

"Cayce!" Cody was exasperated already even though he knew she was joking.

"What brings you down to King Harbor?" Murray asked.

"Well, I was here to see Mr. Malone, at the studio," she explained. "He's become a regular client of mine when it comes to advice on renting horses - he even bought a couple of my trail horses for himself and his wife. I thought I'd stop in King Harbor and visit my brothers and it turns to be a good thing I did. While I was parked at the studio some idiot ran into my pickup and practically totaled it. It's going to be in the body shop for at least a week and who knows what damage was done to the engine? I had to take a cab to get here. I'm stranded so I was hoping I could convince you guys to take me home."

"Mr. Malone" was Craig Malone, a producer with a local studio who had hired Cayce, and the Riptide Detective Agency, to help him out on a movie he was making. He'd been plagued by accidents on the set which included a runaway horse with his leading lady aboard. Cayce had stopped the runaway and talked Malone into hiring her "band of brothers" to look into the accidents. She had taken over the livestock and helped him clear up errors in the storyline - historically and with the animals such as getting the Thoroughbreds replaced with crossbreds and Quarter Horses.

For a short period of time, toward the end of the case, Cayce's life had seemingly been in danger. The gang responsible for all of Malone's trouble at the studio had mistaken her for his female lead as there was a striking resemblance between the two young women.

'You aren't hurt are you?" Cody asked as he, and his partners, looked her over for signs of injury.

"Not hardly!" she declared. "I wasn't in the truck when it was hit - I was in Mr. Malone's office, talking to him and the stunt coordinator on his current western when it happened." Her eyes blazed, "The guy who hit my truck is hurting - I clobbered him good before Mr. Malone was able to pull me off!"

The men laughed but they knew it was probably true. Cayce had quite a temper when somebody got her riled and ramming into her truck would definitely get her riled.

"Why don't you wait here, on deck, while we change into regular clothes," Cody said, indicating the suits they were all wearing during their investigation. "We'll talk about how to get you home in a few minutes."

Cayce agreed to wait but said, "I think I'll wander up and down the pier. I've been sitting for a while, waiting, and it's a long trip back home."

The men went below to change. Cayce removed the lariat from her saddle which she had retrieved from her damaged truck and disembarked. Wandering up the ramp to the pier she started walking along. She stood out from the crowd in her jeans, denim jacket, boots and Stetson but it didn't bother her. As she'd told her brothers many times, she was what she was and she wasn't going to change her "image" just to fit in with the crowd of beach goers and boaters.

About halfway down toward Straightaway's a group of little girls was playing jump rope. Just for the fun of it Cayce took her hat off, put her lariat down and watched the rope swinging to work out the timing then she jumped in for a few circuits. The little girls were delighted to see a grown lady playing their game and clapped when Cayce jumped out again, slightly winded.

As she stood there trying to catch her breath, for it had been a long time since she played jump rope - especially "peppers" as they called it when the rope was swung at top speed, she noticed a young man looking at her a bit strangely.

"What's the matter - never seen anyone jump rope before?" she asked, laughing.

"No, it's not that," the young man, seemingly in his late teens or early twenties, said. "I've never seen anyone dressed like you... or anyone as old as you... I mean..."

"Kid, you're only as old as you feel and I felt like I was about ten years old again."

"That's cool. Kirk Dooley," the young man stuck out his hand.

"Cayce McKenna." Cayce took his hand and shook it.

"You're not, like, from around here are you?" Dooley asked.

"Nope. I live up in Sunny Acres - in the mountains. I own a ranch up there."

"You're like, a for real cowgirl? Horses and gun and all that?"

"Horses, yes. I ride barrel racers, train them, give riding lessons and raise a few hundred head of Hereford and Black Angus cattle. I also lease and sell horses to some of the movie and TV studios around here - especially Colony." She smiled at him, "As for the gun - well out on the range I carry a rifle and sometimes I wear a sidearm. They come in real handy for signaling for help when I'm out of radio range and for protection against rattlesnakes and mountain lions and such. I generally carry a .thirty-eight in my purse when I'm down here in the city."

"Do you do any tricks with that rope? Like they do in the movies?" Dooley asked her.

"Just for fun," was her reply. "My lasso is usually just a tool." Picking it up she said, "But I'll show you a little of what I can do."

The rancher started spinning her rope and the next thing she knew she had an audience of adults and children watching her as she twirled it around, sometimes next to her, sometimes around her or over her head, and several times around herself and Dooley or one of the onlookers. When she removed her hat, held it in her left hand and started jumping in and out of the "Mother Hubbard loop" as she called the loop that she had created, the audience clapped and cheered.

Cayce entertained the crowd for about fifteen minutes while she waited for the detectives. She couldn't figure out what was taking them so long to change their clothes but vowed to herself to tease them - especially Cody who had a more stylish wardrobe - about it.

The men were, in reality, also packing bags. They had decided that, since their latest case was finished, and they didn't have anything else lined up at the moment, they'd take advantage of Cayce's "open door/open invitation" policy and spend a few days at the Lazy M. The problem was finding the boots she'd fitted them with a year ago. They seldom wore them, had never worn them under cover, and - Nick and Cody especially - had a bad habit of tossing them in a corner of the closet they never cleaned more than once every six months when they were busy.

"Cody have you seen my boots?" Nick asked the blond.

"I can't even find my own boots," was the reply, "how can you expect me to find yours?"

Muffled thumps could be heard from the other end of the boat as Murray located his suitcase and started packing. The computer whiz was always up for a visit to the Lazy M so it didn't take him long to pack underwear, socks, shirts, jeans (he wore jeans most of the time anyway) and a couple of small gadgets he was working on in hopes that Cayce would let him experiment with them while they were visiting.

"What the...where did I put them?" the Italian muttered. To his partner he said, "Do you suppose I left them at the ranch?"

"It's possible," Cody replied, "but I think I remember you wearing them when we came home a couple of months ago."

Nick kept digging until he finally found them - under a pile of dirty laundry. It was obvious the men hadn't had the time to keep up on their housekeeping chores lately.

"Do you suppose Josefina would get mad if we brought her our laundry to take care of?"

"I don't think so but you might want to ask Cayce first," his friend told him. "After all, Josefina works for her - not us."

"I'm all ready to go," Murray said as he poked his head in their door. "How about you?"

"We'll be a few minutes yet," Cody told him.

"Oh. Well I'm going to go wait on deck - or see where Cayce's at."

The computer whiz took his leave of his partners and carried his suitcase topside. Then he looked around to see if he could find Cayce.

Unlike the Riptide detectives, Nick and Cody at least, who found Dooley to be a bit of a pest and a nitwit, Cayce found Dooley to be a pleasant young man who was genuinely interested in her and her way of life. It was a far cry from his job as dock boy and part time errand boy for the detectives.

"Show me how you do that in and out with the rope again," Dooley said.

"Sure," Cayce said and started swinging her rope over her head and by her side.

When she was finished Dooley heaped praise on her and asked her to show him how to swing a rope like that.

As the two young people stood talking there was a cry of "stop thief". Cayce, and Dooley, turned to see a tall, husky man of about thirty, running off with a woman's purse. A lot of people turned to look and inadvertently made room for the miscreant to escape. Sizing up the situation, Cayce took quick action.

"Stand back," she told those who were close by. "I'll put a stop to his flight."

The lariat which she had been doing rope tricks with, to entertain the youngsters on the pier, was quickly raised, spun over her head and the loop cast. Within seconds there was a thwack as the lariat as it settled over the purse snatcher's shoulders.

"Yipe! Ow!" the man yelped.

Before he had a chance to recover, the purse snatcher found himself on the ground with a rope around his shoulders that was quickly tightened and his ankles secured as well. In short, Cayce had hogtied him very effectively before anybody could offer to help. Kirk Dooley, and others who were nearby were stunned at the swiftness with which the young woman had reacted - not only stopping the thief but securing him so that he couldn't escape.

Cayce looked at Dooley, who was standing there staring, and said, "Well, what are you waiting for? Go call the police to come get this creep."

Dooley raced off to the nearest store to use the phone and returned a moment later reporting that the police had already been notified.

A few minutes later a pair of King Harbor's finest came along to take custody of Cayce's prisoner.

The older of the two officers, a Sergeant Clarence, took charge of the situation. First thing he did was clear the crowd away except for Cayce and Dooley and the few people who had actually witnessed the crime.

"Move along folks," he said. "We don't need a crowd. Move along unless you actually saw what happened."

The crowd ignored him and stayed right where it was.

The younger officer, a young man of about Cayce's age, put handcuffs on the prisoner and removed Cayce's lariat from around the purse snatcher's shoulders.

"Cayce? What's going on? Are you okay?"

It was Cody. Alerted by Murray that something was happening on the pier, and that Cayce had gone down in that direction on her walk, the older two detectives had ceased their packing and run in the direction of the disturbance. The blond's face, as well as those of his partners, was a picture of concern.

"Sure. I'm fine," she replied. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"She's more than fine, guys," Dooley told them. "She kept this dude from getting away after he stole this lady's purse."

"You did that?" Nick asked. "How?" Looking at the lasso in her hand he said, "Never mind. I think I can guess."

"Yeah, she used that rope - er, lasso," Dooley was determined to use the proper terminology. "She just up and made a loop and threw it at him and pulled him down! Then she tied him up before he could move! It was amazing!"

"What's going on here? What's this crowd here for?"

The sometimes grating voice of Lieutenant Ted Quinlan was heard. The two oldest detectives moved to flank Cayce as much for Quinlan's protection as for hers. Just the fact that she was friends with them was enough to make Quinlan irritable and suspicious. The feeling was somewhat mutual though Cayce used her sense of humor to deflate him and deflect the his barbs.

The crowd separated enough to allow Quinlan to get through to the officers and victim as well as the witnesses and captor. He looked less than pleased to see the Riptide detectives and Dooley and even less when he saw Cayce, whom he remembered from the rodeo case, complete with AWOL soldier, when they'd first met about a year before.

"Oh, no," Quinlan moaned. "It's Dale Evans, Jr. again."

"Nice to see you again, Lieutenant," Cayce said with a smile. "I have a present for you." She pointed to the purse snatcher.

"What's going on here?" he asked the other officers. "And what does she have to do with it?"

"She kept this punk from getting away when he stole this lady's purse," a man on the edge of the crowd told him.

"She caught him? How?"

"She roped him and tied him up before he got more than a hundred yards from here," another witness told him.

"It was awesome," Dooley said. "She just threw that rope at him and pulled him down. She was on top of him - tying him up - before he could catch his breath."

The Riptide detectives exchanged grins. They'd seen some of Cayce's cowboys in action at the Erickson Rodeo a year earlier and they'd watched her out on the range a few times since then. It didn't surprise them that she'd done that and they were enjoying the lieutenant's annoyance, and embarrassment, that a mere slip of a girl had brought down the man apparently suspected of numerous purse snatchings and other robberies along the pier without any help from his officers.

"And just where were you guys when she did your job for you?" Quinlan asked his officers.

"They were down by the arcade," one of the men in the crowd told him. "There was a big disturbance down there."

"Great. You guys let a civilian - and a dame at that - do your job for you."

"Go easy on them Lieutenant," Cayce scolded. "There was a huge crowd and they had difficulty getting through it. I just happened to be on the scene."

"I did some checking up on you," the officer said. "You have a good reputation up there in Sunny Acres. You've never been in any trouble with the law or anything. Why do you let yourself be seen with these beach bums?" He indicated the Riptide detectives with whom he had sort of a love/hate relationship.

"Beach bums? What beach bums? I don't see any beach bums," Cayce responded as she looked at her friends. "I see three of the best big brothers an only child could ever have but I don't see any beach bums."

"What's that supposed to mean?" the lieutenant asked. "How can an only child have brothers?"

Nick started to laugh but turned it into a cough when Cody elbowed him in the ribs. Cody hid a smile and Boz got a nudge when he started to giggle. They recognized the signs but Lieutenant Ted Quinlan didn't. Quinlan glared at them and gave Cayce a sour look but she just smiled at him as sweetly as she did one of the Riptide detectives when she was up to something.

"My uncle is quite fond of these three and counts on them to look out for me and me to look out for them so you'd better watch your step, Lieutenant, or your next Reserve Weekend could be a nightmare you won't soon forget. He's a major in the army you know." Cayce winked at the men of the Riptide. "And if Uncle Brian doesn't take care of you himself there's always Uncle Doug. I think you've already met him - Brigadier General Douglas Johnson? He's my unofficial godfather."

Quinlan looked at her and, finding her deadly serious, changed the subject very quickly. Slow he might have been at times but he wasn't stupid. He'd already tangled with the general over his attitude toward the men of the Riptide. He sure as heck didn't want to tangle with him again - and a Colonel as well. It wouldn't bode well for his career in the reserves.

"So what happened?" the officer asked.

"The punk, there, stole this lady's purse. He tried to get away so I roped him," she winked at her little band of brothers. "Your officers responded very quickly when they were flagged down."

"That's exactly right," one of the other witnesses said. "The punk didn't get very far, and your officers responded within a couple of minutes. But if it weren't for this young lady's quick action the purse snatcher might have gotten away."

Half an hour went by before Quinlan was satisfied that he had everybody's statement who saw anything in regard to the crime. He took Cayce's phone number down and told her he'd be in touch when the time came for the trial.

When the detectives and their "sister" arrived back at the Riptide they held a quick conference to decide how to get Cayce home. They finally decided to take Nick's helicopter, the Screaming Mimi, because it would be faster. When Cayce's truck was ready she could fly down with one of her ranch hands, probably Frank Harding who happened to be a skilled pilot himself, and drive it back.

That being settled the men grabbed their bags and Cayce's saddle, and headed for the helipad where the Mimi was parked. It took but a minute for everyone to board and Nick soon had the somewhat obstinate helicopter warmed up and in the air. It took a few minutes to load their laundry as well - Cayce having told them it was okay and that Josefina wouldn't mind.

"Is that the Mimi I hear?" Frank Harding asked Lazy M foreman Alex McGregor.

"Sure sounds like it," McGregor replied shading his eyes with his left hand to look in the direction of the sound.

"Miss Cayce wasn't expecting the guys was she?"

"I don't think so. She'd have mentioned it and they wouldn't normally show up unannounced." He turned to the younger man, "Put a call out on the radio and see what you can find out."

The closest radio happened to be inside the bunkhouse. The two men, conveniently, were standing on the porch. Three steps had Harding inside. Another couple of steps to his right brought him to the desk where the radio was kept.

Sure enough the voice of Nick Ryder could be heard calling the Lazy M.

"This is the Lazy M, Ryder," he replied. "What brings you here unannounced?"

"I'll let Cayce tell you when we land," Nick told the younger man. "Suffice it to say she ran into a little trouble in LA so we're bringing her home."

"She's not hurt is she?"

"I'm fine, Frank," his employer answered. "I'll explain everything when we land. Make sure the Mimi's landing spot is clear. We'll be there in about five minutes."

"You got it, Miss Cayce." Harding signed off and went to tell McGregor what was happening, emphasizing that Cayce was all right and would explain everything once they had landed.

The two men went out to the field reserved for the Mimi to land when the detectives visited and waited patiently for the aging Sikorsky helicopter to land and the pilot, and passengers, to disembark.

"Miss Cayce? You drove down in your truck - why did the guys fly you back? Are you okay?" McGregor was very anxious.

"I'm fine but the truck is a mess," she explained. "Some dummy rammed into the truck while I was in Mr. Malone's office. It's going to be a week - or more - before it's ready to be picked up."

McGregor and Harding exchanged looks with the Riptide detectives. It was McGregor who asked, "And is the guy who hit your truck still standing? Still in one piece?"

All the men, except Murray, started laughing which made Cayce scowl. She got a little annoyed when the men teased her about how she defended herself and her property. Or anyone else for that matter.

"Very funny," she said and stomped off toward the house which made the men laugh even harder.

Murray, of all the men, looked concerned and expressed his worry that they'd hurt her feelings.

"Guys, maybe you shouldn't have laughed at her. I think her feelings are hurt. Do you think she's mad at us?"

"Don't worry about it, Boz," Cody said. "She'll be mad for a couple of minutes, maybe, but she'll get over it. She never stays mad at us for long."

"I don't know," the slender scientist said. "You were kind of mean to laugh at her like that. I think you should all apologize for laughing at her."

The computer whiz looked anxiously toward the house where their young friend had gone.

"Boz, don 't worry about it. If she was really mad she'd be yelling at us and telling us to leave while threatening to fire these two," Nick reassured him. "She'll have something to say to us, I'm sure, about our sense of humor, but she's not really mad."

"Ryder's right," McGregor told Murray. "She's not really mad and she'll get over it in a few minutes. However," he said with a significant look at the Italian whom he knew to be the biggest tease of the group where Cayce was concerned, "I would tread lightly for a while until you know she's over it." Taking Frank by the arm he turned toward the hay barn, "I think we'll make ourselves scarce for a little while as well."

"Cowards," Cody said as the ranch hands left.

"Not cowards - just smart," was the reply.

The detectives made their way to the house and were warmly greeted by the Lazy M's housekeeper, Josefina Delgado greeted them warmly. Cayce was in her office frowning at some paperwork.

"Cayce, you're not still mad at us are you?" Cody asked.

"Me? Mad at you? Just because you laughed at me? Whatever gives you that idea?" the young woman asked.

"I don't know," Nick chimed in from the doorway. "Unless it was the way you stomped off."

"Did it ever occur to you guys that I might not enjoy being laughed at for defending myself and my property?"

"We're sorry, Cayce," Boz was very sincere even if his partners weren't quite so nice. "We didn't mean to make fun of you."

"You have nothing to apologize for, Boz," she said. "Your partners, on the other hand, I have been razzing me since I was fourteen." She glared at Nick and Cody, "One of these days they're going to be sorry."

"Josefina, that macaroni and cheese was superb," Murray told the matronly Mexican housekeeper.

"Gracias Señor Murray. I'm glad you liked it."

"If he keeps eating like that, he'll put on that weight Dr. Dustin wants," Cayce giggled as she watched the Boz finish his third helping of the casserole plus two more pieces of buttered bread that had been warmed in the oven.

"It guarantees you another letter," Nick said.

"And probably requests to help Boz take that weight off," Cody joked.

It was 6:30PM. Cayce had gotten over her mad and the group had just finished dinner. They lingered another half hour over pieces of orange sponge cake before relaxing in the large, comfortable living room for a while.

Cayce was settled into her comfortable recliner, long legs stretched out and in her stocking feet. Cody and Nick were sitting on the long couch and Murray in the other chair by the fireplace. None of the men had taken their shoes off yet - they hadn't even gone upstairs to their guest rooms since they'd arrived.

Cayce looked completely relaxed, Cody noted, for the first time since she'd shown up at the Riptide minus her truck. She worked hard and deserved to have some fun now and then.

"Most of my students are on vacation this week," the young woman said. "How would you guys like to go on a little trip with me tomorrow?"

"Where?" Murray was definitely interested.

"I knew that would get _your _attention Murray," she chuckled. "I'm not going to tell you exactly but I'll give you a hint - think Huckleberry Hound."

With that she bid the men good night and went up to her room to get ready for bed. Her Australian Shepherd, Rusty, rose from his place next to her chair and followed her up the stairs.

"What does she mean 'think Huckleberry Hound'?" Nick asked his partners.

Both of them shook their head. Even Murray, who had a way of understanding Cayce when she was being silly, didn't know what she was talking about.

Cody and Nick continued talking about it when they were in their guest room a short time later.

"I wonder what it is she's up to?" Nick wondered aloud.

"I don't know," Cody said, "but she's being pretty sneaky about it. I mean if The Boz can't figure it out nobody can. " His forehead creased as he thought about her mysterious declaration. "Huckleberry Hound?"

To say that Lieutenant Ted Quinlan was frustrated would be putting it mildly. For months, he and his officers - with help from the Riptide Detectives - had staked out likely targets for the ring of art thieves recently taken into custody. Three days after they were arrested the officer sat in a courtroom and listened as a judge released them on their own recognizance despite all protests by the District Attorney.

Normally Quinlan would scoff at the thought that the men of the Riptide were in any danger but the ringleader of the group, Carl Hernandez, had a rap sheet three pages long. Most of the charges were for assault, assault and battery and attempted murder.

Thomas Barry, twenty-eight had been in and out of Juvenile Hall and had served a five year prison term for breaking and entering.

Paul Wexler had served time for attempted murder as well but, due to intimidation of witnesses, it had been a very short term.

Five other men had been released on their personal recognizance due to having nothing but juvenile records and being willing to testify for the prosecution in return to light sentences. They made plans to lay low until the trial and made sure that Hernandez and his closest associates had no clue where they were going. Others, unknown to the police, were waiting for their associates to be released.

Now that he had a chance to put the three leaders away for a good long stretch their conniving lawyers had convinced a judge that they should be allowed out on bail until their trial. The presiding judge at their arraignment had agreed with them and now the men were on the loose and probably looking to silence the men who had been responsible for their arrest.

Back at his office, Quinlan took took out his frustration on his door and on the first hapless, young officer, to cross paths with him.

"Richardson! Get me some coffee!" he bellowed as he picked up his telephone to call the Riptide Detective Agency.

His mood was even worse when the phone, on the other end, kept ringing and nobody picked it up. The answering machine, when it kicked in, gave him no clue as to where they had gone so he slammed the receiver down and tried to think.

"Dooley," he said to himself. "If anybody knows where those clowns have gone, it'll be Dooley. That kid knows everything about everyone."

He jumped up from his desk and stormed out the door forcing young Officer Richardson to jump back and spill some of the coffee the lieutenant had requested. Quinlan didn't even notice as he rushed for the door to go down to Pier 56 to talk to the dock boy.

"We start by asking around Pier 56," Hernandez said. "I hear those private cops live down there - on a boat called the Riptide."

"It'll look pretty suspicious if we go aboard their boat and they're not there," Kincaid said. "Let's ask those girls on that boat, over there," pointing to the Contessa, "and see what they know about the whereabouts of those guys."

They approached The Contessa first. The youngest, and best looking, of the group tried to charm the crew but Tammi wasn't falling for his charm. There was something about this guy that she didn't like.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" she asked as she shooed the other girls back to their appointed tasks.

"I hope so," the redhead replied. "We were looking for the guys that live on that boat over there." He indicated the Riptide.

"They're not home, right now, and I have no idea when they'll be back, " Tammi.

"Is there any way we can get in touch with them?"

"They didn't leave a phone number if that's what you're asking."

"Sorry to have bothered you, miss."

"So have the great detectives from King Harbor figured out what I'm talking about yet?"

The group was sitting at the kitchen table feasting on blueberry pancakes with sausage and/or bacon. It was a bright sunny day and promised to be comfortably warm rather than blistering hot.

"Tell us, Cayce," Murray pleaded. "I know about Huckleberry but what's he got to do with what you're planning for today?"

For an answer Cayce started whistling. Neither Nick, nor Cody, recognized the tune but Murray's eyes lit up. Huckleberry was noted for singing (rather off key according to most) "My Darling Clementine".

"'Clementine'? What's 'My Darling Clementine' got to do with your plans for us for today?"

"Murray, Murray," Cayce gently chided him. "You're only thinking of the chorus. Think of the verses!"

She started singing and soon Murray, being somewhat younger than his partners, was remembering this song from his own childhood.

"In a cavern, in a canyon,  
Excavating for a mine  
Dwelt a miner, forty-niner  
And his daughter Clementine

Oh my darling, oh my darling,  
Oh my darling, Clementine!  
Thou art lost and gone forever  
Dreadful sorry, Clementine"

Cayce was grinning from ear to ear as the group pulled out of the ranch yard in her Ford Bronco. She just adored having an opportunity to bug the heck out of the two senior detectives. It was all in fun but Cody and Nick were about to lose their minds - so they thought - from listening to the two youngest members of the group sing the old folk song.

"Light she was and like a fairy,  
And her shoes were number nine  
Herring boxes, without oopses,  
Sandals were for Clementine. "

She paused to take a breath - she was giggling so hard it was difficult to keep singing. The blissful look on Murray's face didn't help any. He was having a blast!

"Drove she ducklings to the water  
Ev'ry morning just at nine,  
Hit her foot against a splinter  
Fell into the foaming brine.

Ruby lips above the water,  
Blowing bubbles, soft and fine,  
But, alas, I was no swimmer,  
So I lost my Clementine

How I missed her! How I missed her,  
How I missed my Clementine,  
But I kissed her little sister,  
I forgot my Clementine."

"I still don't get it," Nick said, as he wished the two youngest members of the group would stop singing that silly song. He was reliving his Christmas nightmare of a couple of years earlier with their nonsense. Then it had been one Christmas song after another and the sillier the better.

Exasperated, Cayce explained, "There are a bunch of abandoned mining camps and ghost towns in these hills, and just over the state line in Nevada. I like to go poking around to see what I can learn about the people that used to inhabit them. Sometimes I even find bottles that I can sell to antique dealers."

"I haven't explored a ghost town - or an old mining camp in years, Cody said. "It sounds like fun."

Nick gave him a "you've got to be kidding look".

The others ignored his sour attitude. Murray was as excited as Cayce and Cody were about the potential for finding old bottles, geological specimens and seeing the old buildings. Who knew but what somebody famous had once lived there? Mark Twain had had a mining claim once and hadn't he written The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County after visiting just such a place?

"Yes, Boz," Cayce answered his spoken query on the subject. "Actually I read somewhere that Mark Twain could have made a fortune on a mining claim except for one thing."

Cody was curious, "What was that?"

"He, and his partner, inadvertently abandoned it by leaving the claim unattended for several days or a week. They each left the other a note but neither one saw it. Somebody else moved in on the claim and they lost their rights to it."

"Tough luck," Nick commented.

"It was a lack of communication - or attention. It could have been avoided if they'd just read each other's notes." Cayce grinned. "It makes for a great story. He made as much money, if not more, by writing about his adventures - and misadventures - as he would have if his claim had panned out."

They drove along for about twenty miles before stopping at a gas station to fill up and stretch their legs for a few minutes. Cayce knew the attendant and chatted with him while Nick filled the tank. When the Italian was done he cleaned the windshields, front and back, then came in to get a cold drink.

"Ready to go?" Cayce asked.

"We're ready if you are," was the answer.

"See you later, Mr. Puglsey," she said to the owner. "Bye Cal." She waved at the mechanic working on a local's truck in the service bay.

The group got back into the truck and proceeded to drive about ten miles Northeast until they got a little further into the mountains.

"Here's the turnoff," Cayce said indicating a dirt road that was narrow and rutted.

They drove about five more miles down the road before they pulled into a dusty, rutted road about a mile or so distant from the old buildings.

"I always park right along here so I don't disturb anything with the truck," Cayce told them as she indicated where Cody should pull over. It's OK for humans but machinery, like a truck, could do a lot of damage ad I don't want to be responsible for that. I hear they're talking of preserving what's left and making it a state historical park. If they do that there won't be any vehicles allowed beyond this spot anyway."

The foursome exited the Bronco and made sure it was secure against any unexpected visitors. Cayce said she seldom saw anybody when she was exploring but there was no sense in taking chances. The detectives agreed. Cody handed her the keys when they were all out and truck doors were closed.

"OK. Everyone's got on jeans, boots and long sleeves right?" Cayce made sure they were ready. No exploring in ghost towns was allowed unless she was sure they were all dressed properly against the elements and the inherent "dangers" of poking around in old buildings and caves.

"Nicholas! Roll those sleeves down," Cayce scolded the Italian who, as was customary, had his sleeves rolled back.

"It's too hot to wear long sleeves, Cayce," he argued.

"It may be hot but we're going to be poking around in old buildings where there may be nails or loose boards or splinters or whatever else might scratch you. Your shirt sleeves will give you some protection. You don't hear Cody and Boz complaining do you?"

That shut Nick up and got his sleeves down - or maybe it was the dirty look his partners were giving him for disobeying orders from the person who knew what she was talking about.

The first place they headed to was the abandoned saloon. The three men were curious to see if they looked anything like the ones on television and in the movies. It was the one building Cayce usually stayed out of but she went along with them since they were good enough to come with her on this expedition.

They spent about fifteen minutes in there and found mostly dust, sand and cobwebs. The mirror was long since broken and the rooms upstairs contained mostly moth eaten drapes and blankets. It was obvious, to Cayce, that the creatures of the nearby desert had been nesting in some of the rooms.

Hernandez scowled. The Riptide detectives obviously weren't at home on their boat and nobody seemed to know where they were.

The group walked down the pier toward the Riptide and the ramp leading up to the street. Coming in their direction was Kirk Dooley. The youth, clad in jeans and a sweatshirt with the sleeves cut off, and sneakers, held the leash of a white toy poodle belonging to one of the other boat owners and he didn't look happy about it.

"Hey kid!" Hernandez hailed Dooley. "Can we talk to you a minute?"

"Sure, but I have to get Fifi, here, back to the Taylors' boat, before they leave and they're leaving in about ten minutes."

"We were looking for the detectives that live on that boat - the Riptide is it?"

"You mean Nick, Cody and Boz."

"Nick, Cody and Boz?"

"Yeah. Nick Ryder, Cody Allen and Murray Bozinsky. They live on Cody's boat and they work from there too."

"Yes, well they don't appear to be at home and we were wondering if maybe you knew where to find them."

"They left a few hours ago carrying suitcases and a saddle belonging to Miss McKenna. She's the cowgirl I met on the dock earlier. I think they're good friends. I heard them say something about going to her place for a while."

"Did they say when they would be back? Or leave a phone number with you?"

"No. Like I said, they had suitcases with them so I guess they plan on being gone for a few days."

"Do you happen to know where this Miss McKenna lives?" Hernandez asked, trying to remain calm.

"Up north somewhere. I think she said the town is called Sunny Acres but she doesn't live in town. She said she lives on a ranch _near _there."

"What's the name of it?"

"You know, she never did say," Dooley answered. "If you're looking to hire the guys you'll probably have to wait for a while. The only other person that might know where they are, or when they're coming back is Lieutenant Quinlan of the King Harbor Police. The guys are supposed to be in court in a couple of weeks. He'd want to know where they are in case he needs them."  
"Thanks kid," Hernandez said. "It's really not that important. We'll wait or find somebody else to take the job."

"Sure," Dooley said. Looking at his watch he started off toward the slip where the Swan was docked. "If it's really important you can leave a message with the girls on the Contessa or Straightaway. They'll see that the guys get it. I better get Fifi back to the Swan or the Taylors will be mad at me for keeping her away so long."

"Thanks for the info, kid," Kincaid said smoothly. "We'll check back in a couple of days."

Dooley made his way toward the Swan. The art thieves turned back toward the Riptide.

"I'd like to leave those guys a nice little 'surprise''," Hernandez said.

"Won't do any good to leave a 'surprise' if we don't know when they're going to get back. I suggest we ask around and find out how to get to this Sunny Acres and find them." Kincaid was trying to keep a lid on his friend's explosive temper. If he blew it now somebody might get suspicious and tip off the police. "If somebody else trips it the those guys will be warned and the cops will be looking for us. You threatened them when we were busted, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah. There must be some way to find out where those rats are."

"That kid said something about a cowgirl and her being close friends of theirs. Maybe we can find out where she lives and go there to get them. The cops up there wouldn't be looking for us."

"There's a shop down the pier that sells maps," Barry pointed. "I'll go in and get a good map of the state and find out how to get to - what was the name of that town the kid mentioned?"

"Sunny Acres," Kincaid said. "It's supposed to be up in the northern part of the state somewhere."

Barry went to the shop and returned fifteen minutes later with a map and some snacks explaining that he had told the clerk that he and his friends were planning a long trip and needed the snacks to munch on while they drove.

"Did you ask about this Sunny Acres place?" Hernandez asked.

"I looked on the map. It's way up in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas - about a five hour drive from here. See?" he pointed at the name on the map. "I circled it so we'll know where it is and I took the time to work out a route as well."

"Good work," Hernandez said. "Let's get the van and get on the road. The sooner those guys are dead the sooner we're free men for lack of witnesses."

"There! There's the exit for Sunny Acres," Barry said.

The art thieves had followed the route Barry had laid out on the map until they got to Sunny Acres. At a loss as to which way to get to the ranch they stopped in town long enough to ask around and got directions from a passerby. They also garnered attention from the local police. Sergeant Jacoby Ellsbury, not liking their looks, - or their attitude when he talked to them - called the Lazy M to let them know about their uninvited visitors but nobody answered the phone. There wasn't anything else he could do about it - the men had committed no crimes that he knew of - but he was going to keep his ear to the ground and check out the APBs that might come through about these men. He hoped that Cayce was on the alert and even more that her uncle, Lieutenant Colonel Brian McKenna was around as well as the men who worked for the Lazy M.

Ted Quinlan headed down to Pier 56. Somebody had to know where the Riptide detectives had gone. He stopped at virtually every shop along the pier and some of the souvenir and refreshment stands. He went to Straightaways and the Contessa. Nobody knew where the men had gone or who with.

"I'm sorry, Lieutenant," Tammi said. "They didn't say a word to us. " She frowned as she remembered the strangers. "You're not the only one looking for them. There were some strangers here a while ago. They said they wanted to hire the guys but I'm not sure I believed them. There was something about them that made me nervous."

"Do you remember what they looked like?"

"Yes," Tammi replied and went on to describe Hernandez and company.

"You did well not to tell them anything," Quinlan told her. "These guys are awaiting trial for robbery and murder. Those morons, from the Riptide Detective Agency, are my chief witnesses. These guys want to eliminate them before the trial."

"One of the girls said she saw them talking to Kirk Dooley. You might see if you can find him and find out what he knows - about the guys or those men."

"I'll do that," Quinlan said as he left the Contessa. He muttered to himself about that "goof ball kid" all the way down Pier 56 until he spotted the teen heading for the Golden Goose with the Normans' pet beagle, Pokey, on a leash. The Normans were another well to do couple with a yacht moored at Pier 56.

"Hey Dooley. Wait up a minute. I need to talk to you kid."

Dooley looked apprehensive when he saw who was calling him. He had reason to be. In the course of doing his odd jobs he had occasionally run afoul of the uptight police lieutenant.

"Yes sir, Lieutenant," Dooley said practically saluting the man. "What can I do for you this fine day?"

"Never mind the bull, kid," he growled. "I hear you've been talking to those morons of the Riptide Detective Agency. Do you know where they're at? I need to talk to them pronto."

"They flew out in the Mimi this morning," Dooley told Quinlan. "They asked me to keep an eye on the Riptide. I guess they're gonna be gone for a few days."

"Do you happen to know where they went?"

"I think they went to visit their friend - Miss McKenna. You know - the girl that caught that purse snatcher the other day."

"Yes, I do know and I know where she lives," the officer said. "I'll try to get hold of them there. By the way, did you happen to see any strangers around the pier today - other than the usual tourists.?"

"Like who?"

"Anybody - a group of men asking about Allen and his buddies?"

"Yeah, there were some guys looking for them. They said they wanted to hire them for a job of some kind."

That got the officer's attention in a hurry.

"Did they give you their names? Can you describe any of them? A redhead, a blond and a Hispanic - all in their thirties and forties?"

"Yeah, that sounds like them," the dock boy replied.

"Did you tell them anything?"

"Just that the guys weren't here and I thought they might have gone to this Sunny Acres where that Miss McKenna lives."

"Great! That's just great, kid! Do you realize that you may have put all of their lives in danger? Do you?"

"How'd I do that?" Dooley asked.

"You shot off your mouth to a bunch of strangers. Strangers that are going on trial for art theft and second degree murder."

"Well how was I supposed to know that?"

"You weren't," Quinlan admitted in a softer tone. "I've got to get back to my office and call the local police up there. If you think of anything - _anything_ that might tell me where those men went you call me immediately you understand?"

"Yes sir," Kirk said. "If I think of anything I'll definitely call you."

Up in Sunny Acres the ring of art thieves had found their way to the Lazy M. They sat in their van looking the place over - what they could see of it from the intersection of the main road and the long driveway leading up to the parking area. They couldn't tell if the Riptide detectives were there or not. All they saw were cowboys going back and forth from corral to barn to feed shed and tool shed.

"I don't like the looks of this," Kincaid said. "Too many people around and those cowboys look tough."

"Yeah. I don't see those rats anywhere do you?"

"No," was the answer from everyone present.

"Barry - go on up to the house and see what you can find out. Tell them we're new to the area and we heard that the McKenna girl has connections in King Harbor or something. Tell them we're thinking of settling there."

"I don't think that'll work," Barry said. "I'll think of something though."

Confidently the thief walked down the driveway and hailed the first person he saw. Unfortunately for him it was Smokey Jim Kennelly who was working with a colt that was being saddle broke. The colt had been dumping the blanket and the saddle all morning and Smokey was not in the best of moods. The worst part was that Rusty, for all he was usually the calming influence, had absolutely no effect on this particular colt. The big bay kicked at him whenever he came near and was stomping too close to Smokey's feet for comfort.

"Doggone you, colt! That's the fifth time you've almost taken out my knee. I'm gonna have to tell Miss Cayce I can't do anything with you and I sure do hate givin' up! It plumb goes against my nature."

"That animal sure does look like it's got it in for you," the stranger at the fence said.

Smokey, caught up in his work, whirled around - startled - at the sound of a stranger's voice. He almost got kicked again but he retained his grip on the colt's halter and got close enough that the animal couldn't get enough leverage to make a good try at it.

Kincaid, young, blond and seemingly friendly, grinned. "Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you."

"Doesn't take much when I'm concentrating on something," was Kennelly's reply.

Rusty growled, hackles raised. He didn't like this stranger.

"Rusty! Be quiet. Man's not doing anything wrong."

"Quite a watchdog you have there."

"Rusty's the boss lady's dog. He generally works with the cattle and the horses and he's not usually so unfriendly. Unless of course a stranger comes along. Miss Cayce always makes a point of introducing him to new friends and such."

Rusty growled again only this time he was looking beyond Kincaid. He sensed troubled from this man and the car that was sitting on the side of the road.

"Rusty! That's enough!" Smokey was surprised by the normally good natured dog's behavior. "Go lie down over there," he pointed at a place next to the gate to the training pen.

The normally obedient dog ignored the command. He continued growling and staring down the road until Kennelly realized what was going on.

"Did you walk out from Sunny Acres, friend?" the cowboy asked. "Or did you drive out?"

"I drove out with some friends from Los Angeles," Kincaid answered.

"Well, if that's them in the car they're mighty unfriendly - or afraid of being seen. Why don't you invite them to come on up and see what's happening for themselves?"

"No, no that won't be necessary," the thief said. "We'll just be on our way back to town."

"You just do that." Smokey was watching carefully, as was Rusty, as Kincaid walked back down the road to his partners. "Rusty, I'll never doubt you again. Those fellas are up to something. I think I'll have a little chat with Mac about this. Come on."

He removed the halter from the colt he'd been working with and took it and the saddle and blanket with him. He deposited them on the ground outside the training pen and headed for the bunkhouse where he knew Alex McGregor, the Lazy M's foreman, was working on some paperwork for Cayce's records. Rusty followed along at his heels.

Quickly, Kennelly explained about the visitor. McGregor called the Sunny Acres police department. A quick chat with Sergeant Ellsbury yielded the news that that same car, occupied by a group of strangers, had been in town asking questions about Cayce and the connections she had in Los Angeles. He wasn't sure if they knew about the Riptide detectives or not. Most folks in Sunny Acres would consider it none of their business out of respect for Cayce's privacy. There was always the chance that someone let something slip not thinking anything of it.

"I don't like it," McGregor said. "I wish the colonel were here to talk to. He'd know where Miss Cayce likes to explore better than we do. We wouldn't know where to start looking."

As it happened, Brian McKenna had been granted a week's leave after dealing with returned prisoners and several large crowd and traffic control events over the last few months. It had been quite a while, almost a year, since he had had more than a twenty-four hour leave or a weekend of being off duty.

The first thing he had done, upon receiving notification of his leave, was to head for his bachelor officer's quarters and pack a bag. He always left some clothes at the ranch but he liked to swap out the old ones for new ones - figuratively speaking since he never brought new clothes to the Lazy M unless the ones he'd been wearing were worn out beyond redemption. Even Josefina's expertise with a needle couldn't repair threadbare jeans or shirts.

He chuckled to himself as he thought of the scoldings the Mexican woman had given him several times over the condition of his "play clothes". And Cayce was almost as bad as he was in that she loved nothing better than the most faded jeans and comfortable old shirts - even an oversize sweatshirt - when she wasn't working on the range. Around the house she went stocking foot or wore moccasin style slippers.

Within half an hour he had changed into old jeans, a plaid shirt and sneakers. He put a stop to deliveries of mail and newspapers and was out the door with his bag. He climbed into his Ford sedan and headed for his second home with great anticipation of the meals he would have while he was there and the wonderful time he would have visiting his niece whom he had raised from the age of ten. Little did he know what he was going to find.

"Did you find out anything?" Hernandez asked when Kincaid rejoined the group in the waiting car.

"Not a thing - except that they've got a dog on the place that didn't like me."

"Didn't anybody in that dinky town have anything to say about her? Where she might be? If those detectives are with her?"

"Somebody said something about exploring ghost towns when she has a free day," Weller told him.

"Did they happen to say where these ghost towns are and if anybody's with her?" Hernandez wanted to know.

"I think somebody said something about a place called Hard Luck. It's supposed to be about twenty miles from here."

Barry unfolded the other map he had bought - a souvenir map showing where the old mining towns used to be. By comparing it to the regular map they were able to work out a route that they thought would take them to the detectives whereupon they would eliminate them as witnesses. If the girl got in the way they'd eliminate her as well.

The phone at the Sunny Acres Police Department rang. Officer Kyle Case answered.

"Sunny Acres Police Department, you're being recorded."

"I'm looking for a Sergeant Ellsbury," a gravelly voice said. "Jacoby Ellsbury. It's important that I speak to him."

"May I ask who's calling, sir?" Case asked.

"Lieutenant Ted Quinlan, King Harbor PD."

"Hold on just a moment, sir, and I'll connect you."

"Sergeant Ellsbury speaking. What can I do for you, Lieutenant?"

"I'm trying to locate some men - they're supposed to be visiting Mis Cayce McKenna at the Lazy M ranch. Their names are..."

"Cody Allen, Nick Ryder and Murray Bozinsky?"

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"I know the men. I've met them in town - had them in my jail the first time they came to Sunny Acres. They got in a fight with some locals. Turned out the locals had started it and the three of them were working - undercover - for Miss McKenna when somebody tried to keep her out of the barrel racing competitions that year."

"That's them. " Quinlan confirmed.

"They're nice guys. Fit in real well with the local citizens - well except Neil Remy but that's another story."

"Have you see them around? I called the Lazy M but nobody answered the phone. It's very important that I get in touch with them."

"I haven't seen them myself but I heard they were at the Lazy M. Something about Miss McKenna's truck being out of commission down your way and her needing a lift home."

"Yeah, I heard that, too," Quinlan said. "Listen, have you got any way of getting in touch with her? The Riptide Detective Agency helped break up a ring of art thieves. The scum balls got out on bail and they're out to eliminate the witnesses."

"What makes you think they're headed this way?" Ellsbury asked.

"A kid, who works on the docks, said they asked him about the men. He didn't know much other than they said they were looking to hire them. Unfortunately the kid told them that the men might be with Miss McKenna. They asked around the pier and somebody told them they heard they'd taken Miss McKenna home and were probably planning on staying for a few days."

"What are their names? Do you have a description or photos of them?"

"You got a teletype up there? I can send you their pictures and their rap sheets."

"Lieutenant, we may be a small town, but we _are _up to date on such things."

"Okay, okay," Quinlan responded. "I'll have someone send it to you right away. Let me know if they've been seen."

After a few more minutes Sergeant Ellsbury hung up the phone in disgust with a comment about "big city cops who think they know everything."

Fifteen minutes later the teletype came through. Ellsbury just about went through the ceiling when he saw the faces of the men he'd seen in town earlier that day. He grabbed his phone and called the Lazy M. He got no answer so he grabbed a set of car keys, told the officer on the desk where he was going and headed for the Lazy M.

"It's almost noon," Cayce said looking at her watch. "Why don't we get our lunch from the truck and eat before we do any more exploring? We still have the mine and surrounding area to check out."

"Sounds good to me," Cody said. "I could go for lunch about now myself."

The others agreed so the group walked back to Cayce's truck and retrieved the cooler with their lunches and beverages. Then they went to sit in the shade of the old general store due to the lack of trees in the area.

The ham sandwiches, chips, carrot sticks and bottles of water disappeared quickly. It was a warm day, with a nice breeze blowing. All of the explorers felt somewhat drowsy after eating so they took a short siesta, as Cayce called it, while their lunches settled.

The sun had risen high in the sky by the time the little band of explorers stopped for lunch. It was relatively cool under the few trees that were nearby and the shade was more than welcome. With the breeze murmuring and the bees buzzing along with the occasional _tru lee, tru lee_ of the mountain bluebird the group found themselves dozing for about an hour. About an hour later, and after a quick privacy break well away from where they were exploring, and had eaten, the guys and Cayce wandered back toward the old mining town.

The sun was starting its trek over the mountains, and the air had cooled considerably by then, so Cayce grabbed her denim jacket out of the truck when they put the cooler back along with their trash and garbage which would be disposed of at the ranch. Murray, ever the gentleman helped her put it on for which she flashed him a smile of gratitude. Dust blew everywhere along with some dried leaves as they approached the old hotel. A sign that hung from the hotel creaked as it blew in the wind.

"Wow! This must have been some fancy place back in its day," Cody said as they eyed the worn velvet furniture and deep carpets now faded, dusty, worn and water stained.

"It was," Cayce told him. "I read somewhere that they were taking thousands of dollars in gold out of these mines. That would be something like tens of thousands these days. For twenty years," she approached the front desk, "this place was a boom town."

"Why is it named Hard Luck if it was a boom town?" Murray asked.

"Because a guy by the name of Warren Peterson owned the original claim. When it didn't pan out for him he sold it. The next guy struck it rich and Peterson became known for his hard luck. Somebody thought it would be funny to name the town after him when he became known as Hard Luck Peterson."

"That's hard luck all right," Cody chuckled.

"Lack of patience," Cayce asserted. "It wasn't but a couple of weeks after he gave up that they struck the mother lode. He could have been rich but he more or less gave it away."

"How long did he work the claim?" Murray asked.

"About two weeks. He wanted to get rich right away. When it didn't happen he sold out and lost out."

Now that the group had returned to the "city limits", Cayce looked around and decided that the Assayer's Office would be a good place to check out so they headed for that small building on the north end of town.

"It's always interesting to see what ore samples might have been left behind and to read the record books," Cayce said as they entered the somewhat dilapidated building.

It was dim, and cool, in the assayer's. Finding some old record books to look at, Cayce, Cody and Boz took them over by the window.

"See, here's old Hard Luck's first claim notice," Cayce said pointing the entry out to her friends.

Nick, not sharing their enthusiasm, got bored quickly and decided to wait for them outside where it was warmer.

In the shade it was almost as cool as inside the assayer's office so Nick moved out into the sun. Thinking that the sun drenched rocks look inviting he completely forgot Cayce's warning that rattlesnakes, being the cold blooded creatures they are, could often be found sunning themselves on the rocks. The Italian found himself a nice warm spot and rubbed his hands up and down his arms. His first hint of danger was a buzzing sound.

"What the heck?" he said to himself.

Bzzzz!

Looking around Nick found himself just inches away from an angry rattlesnake. Belatedly remembering Cayce's warnings he tried to back away from the rocks. Never taking his eyes off the rattler, he never saw the rock that was right behind him. Even as he fell the rattler struck, sinking its fangs into his right forearm.

Inside the assayer's office, Cayce, Cody and Murray heard Nick's anguished yell. They literally dropped the books they were looking at and ran outside. It was Cayce who spotted him first. It took all of about seven seconds for Cayce and Cody to cover the one hundred yards that separated them from their friend.

"Nick? What's wrong?" an anxious Cody asked

The Italian was hunched over in pain, holding his right arm.

"Snake." he said

"Rattlesnake?" Cayce asked looking around.

"Yeah."

A second later Cayce spotted the reptile just a few feet away. As it readied itself to strike again she picked up a large rock and threw it at the rattler. The rock hit its target and the snake slithered away to a safer place.

The young woman heaved a sigh of relief as she watched it leave, then turned toward her stricken friend. She feverishly worked to assess the seriousness of the bite and was not happy with what she saw, or with Nick's physical - let alone - emotional reaction.

"Nick, you've got to try and calm down," she told him. "Getting excited will only push the venom through your system faster."

"What can we do for him?" Cody asked anxiously.

"First thing is to wash that bite out with water," was the reply. "I'm going to go to the truck for a couple of bottles and get the snake bite kit."

"You have a snake bite kit in the truck?" Murray asked.

"I never travel without it," Cayce told him. "I carry one in my saddlebags when I'm out on the range as well. So do the men who work for me."

"Aren't you supposed to cut and suck?" Nick asked through tightly clenched teeth.

"Nope. If I was I would have done it by now," the young woman told him. "Doctors say not to do that. The idea is to get the victim - you, in this case - to a hospital as soon as possible. That's after we wash out the bite."

Untying the bandanna she wore around her neck she added, "First we put a restrictive band - my bandanna - on that arm."

"No tourniquet?" Cody asked. "Is that bandanna going to be enough to keep the venom from going though his system?"

"I'm up to date on first aid, Cody," Cayce told him. "The manuals all say restrictive band, no tourniquet and no cut and suck. Wash the bite out with water and get the victim to a hospital ASAP." She looked at Murray, who as usual had a pocket protector full of writing implements and a small notebook. "Let me have one of your pens and your notebook, Boz. We need to circle the bite and keep track of the time he was bitten and all. The doctors will need that info when we get him to a hospital."

"I'll do that," Bozinsky said. He gently took Nick's arm in his hand and circled the stricken area. Then he made a note of the time - roughly - that Nick was bitten. When they had reacted to Nick's yell they had had no thought of marking the time, only that he was in some kind of trouble.

She finished fastening the restrictive band and handed Cody Nick's watch, and belt, which she had removed.

"We need to remove anything restrictive," she told him. "You hold onto Nick's watch until he can wear it again."

She got to her feet and started to walk to the spot where they'd left her truck. All four were startled when gunshots rang out. The first slug hit the rocks not three feet from where Cayce was standing. The second one hit close to where the detectives were huddled over their friend. It didn't take long for Cayce's sharp eyes to spot the ledge from which the shots came. Frantically she looked for a place for them to take shelter. Quickly ruling out the buildings that still stood as being too hard to defend she pointed toward the mine they had just been talking about a few moments ago.

"Quick! In there!"

Cody and Boz pulled Nick to his feet and slung an arm over their shoulders. They followed Cayce into the mine and set him down gently when they reached what their friend deemed a safe spot away from the entrance and any bullets - about two hundred feet in.

"I wish I had my rifle with me," Cayce fumed. "I'd show them a thing or two about careless shooting!"

The men exchanged looks. They had a bad feeling about this. The shootist's next words confirmed their fears.

"You guys aren't going to testify against anybody! You hear me? You're dead men!"

"It can't be," Cody said in disbelief. "How could they be out of jail? And how could they know where to find us?"

"Who?" Cayce asked.

"Some art thieves we helped uncover," Murray told her. "They're supposed to be in custody. I wonder how they got out."

"Personal recognizance maybe?" the young woman speculated.

"Maybe," Cody said, "or else they have a slick mouthpiece of a lawyer who talked a judge into setting low bail."

Another shot, and then a second and third shot ricocheted off the rocks at the front of the mine.

"I think we need to barricade the entrance to the mine," Cayce told her friends. "I'll take a look and see if I can find anything we can use.

She walked a little further into the mine looking for something to use for a barricade. Her eyes lit up when she saw an old ore cart, seemingly in good condition, sitting on the tracks about a hundred yards further in.

"Cody? Boz? Come here." she called.

"What is it Cayce?" the blond asked.

"Are you all right?" a concerned Bozinsky asked as they approached on the run.

"I'm fine. I'm fine. Help me move this ore cart. It'll help barricade the mine entrance against our 'friends' out there."

The three of them pushed and pulled.

"Put your shoulder into it guys," Cayce said. "With this and some of those bigger rocks I think we can pretty well keep those guys from getting in here. At least we can have some protection from any other shots they fire."

Together the three of them pushed until the heavy cart was in the front of the mine, partly blocking the entrance which made it harder for the men on the outside to see who was where on the inside. A few large rocks, and some old boards, filled in the sides. That done, they returned to the side of their stricken friend.

Caycee knelt beside Nick to check on his condition. It was obvious that the snake bite was deep but there wasn't anything she could do. With those men out there she couldn't get to the truck to get the water or the snakebite kit or her .38 revolver which was in the glove compartment.

Cody was more than a little anxious. Cayce was inadvertently caught in an ambush meant for them. And Nick - well it was obvious that the Italian needed real medical attention soon. Cayce was doing all she could for him but she wasn't a doctor - or even a nurse. He could tell that the young woman was frightened and worried and even a little mad. There had to be a way out.

They'd been trapped for about a half an hour when he stood and started pacing. As he paced he remembered the conversation he and Cayce had had about old mines - there was always a ventilation shaft somewhere. She'd just told Murray the same thing. If he could find it maybe they could escape. Or one of them - himself - could escape and get help.

"Cayce, do you know where the ventilation shaft is in this mine? Is there a back entrance?"

"I haven't really explored this one," was the answer. "There has to be, though. The miners learned the hard way about how important ventilation was." She got up from where she was kneeling by Nick's side. "Let's go find it. If it's a back entrance we've got a way to get Nick out of here."

Together the oldest detective and the rancher walked off together, deeper into the mine, leaving Murray to watch over their sick friend.

"It's awfully dark back here," Cody commented. "I wish we had a light of some kind."

"We do," Cayce told him and pulled a small, but very bright flashlight out of her jacket pocket.

"You're prepared for just about everything aren't you?" the blond commented.

"I wasn't prepared for this," she said. "I always carry a snakebite kit but I never figured on a situation where I wouldn't even be able to get at it."

"This has nothing to do with you being prepared," Cody stated firmly. "It has to do with some lowlifes who caused the death of a security guard at one of the homes they robbed. They don't care who might be in the way of their getting at us in order to keep us from testifying at their trial."

"You guys really know how to make friends and influence people, don't you?" Cayce tried to joke about it.

"It's not a joking matter, Cayce," Cody scolded her.

"I know. I'm just trying to keep myself from panicking is all. I'm not exactly used to being shot at."

The blond reached over and gave her a squeeze.

"You'll be fine. We've been in tight spots before."

The siblings walked further into the tunnel and shined the flashlight around until they saw a bright spot where the sun was shining in, a few yards ahead of them. They were about a half mile into the mine at that point.

"Oh, wouldn't you know it?" Cayce cried out in frustration when they reached the sunny area. "We can climb out but no way Nick can! He has to stay warm and quiet in order to keep that venom from moving through his system too fast! We'll never get him out this way!"

"There's only one thing to do," Allen said with a knowing look at Cayce. "Somebody's going to have to climb out and that someone is me."

"You? Why you?" Cayce wanted to know.

"Because you're the only one with any experience with snakebite."

"But you don't know the area! How are you going to get past those guys and get help?"

"You're going to give me the keys to the Bronco and directions I can remember."

Cayce opened her mouth to protest but Cody cut her off.

"You're _not _going to do it, Cayce, and that's final. I need you here to look after Nick and Boz."

"Okay. I'll do it but I won't like it," she said. "I'll be worrying about you the whole time I'm worrying about Nick and keeping those guys from getting in here. I sure hope they don't know anything about abandoned mines. I can't watch both access points at the same time."

"I doubt they do," Allen reassured her. "These guys were stealing valuable paintings and sculptures and stuff. Nothing about them suggests that they know anything about mining."

Unwilling to leave without telling his partner what was planning to to do, Cody walked back to where they had left Nick and Murray.

"How ya doin' buddy?" Cody asked his stricken partner.

"Not so good, Code."

"Cayce and Boz will take good care of you. I found a way for me to get out of here and get help."

Nick looked at him with bleary, pain filled eyes.

"How?"

"There's a vertical ventilation shaft near the back of the mine. I'm going to climb out, get Cayce's truck and go back to the town where we stopped for gas. It isn't far."

Looking at his other friends he said, "You two keep close watch on him. I want to know everything. Do what you can for him."

"You know we will," Murray told him as Cayce, her eyes tear filled, nodded. "We'll do everything we can for him, won't we Cayce?"

Turning to his stricken partner, Cody said, "You do everything they tell you. Stay calm. Stay quiet and don't you dare..." his voice choked up on him, "don't you _dare _give up. Don't you even _think _about quitting on me. You hear me Nick Ryder? You hang in there. I'll have help back here, and you in a hospital before you know it. Just don't you...don't you quit on me!"

Cody's voice was fierce as he made that last statement. He was mad as Hades and he didn't care who knew it. It was out of consideration to Cayce, who hated profanity, that he kept his language under control.

Cayce got to her feet and walked with Cody back to the ventilation shaft.

"Where do you think you're going?" Allen asked her fiercely.

"With you - long enough to make sure you get out of here safely," she said just as fiercely with tears streaming down her face. With Cody she could allow herself to break down but she knew she needed to get it out of her system before they went back to the others. It wouldn't do for Nick to see her crying. He needed to stay calm and keep as quiet as possible and he just wasn't going to be able to do that if she was upset.

They had reached Cody's escape route at this point. Cayce gave him the keys to the Bronco and watched as he started his climb.

"Cody, if you get to the Bronco you'll find my .38 in the glove compartment."

Allen looked down at her and grinned. '"I might have known you'd also have some sort of a weapon."

"Seldom leave home without one," she answered as he started climbing again.

The young woman waited, and watched until he was safely at the top and on his way before she turned to go back to the other men.

Murray fretted over Nick. He didn't know much about snakebite - other than what he'd read and what Cayce had told them - but he knew his friend was in bad shape.

The Italian's pulse was rapid. It was apparent that he was tired and the look on his face spoke of nausea.

He roused some when he heard Cayce's footsteps as she returned.

"Cody? Cayce?"

"Right here Nick," the young woman answered.

"Did Cody get out all right?" Murray asked.

"Yes. I stayed long enough to make sure. Then I came back here to keep my promise. I have to look after Nick for him."

Cayce was pale with worry about both of her friends. She knew Cody was determined to get help for them - to get them out of the fix they were in but Nick was very ill. The snake had bitten hard and apparently with a full sack of venom. She could see that he was having difficulty breathing - he was rasping. His eyelids were dropping. She removed her jacket and tucked it around the Italian's shoulders and chest as best she could. Even a slightly oversized jacket for her was too small to fit around him the way a man's jacket would.

"How's he doing, Boz?" she asked quietly.

"Not good," Murray replied. "You can see for yourself that he's sweating and he's having difficultly breathing. The thin man was trying to stay calm but he was as frightened for his friend - all _three_ of his friends - as she was.

They settled in for what they hoped would be a fairly short wait, watching Nick, waiting for Cody and hoping that their assailants knew as little about mining as Cody thought they did. As Cayce had said, she couldn't keep an eye on both entrances at once and, to make matters worse, she wasn't armed. None of them were. They hadn't anticipated a pleasant outing turning into a nightmare the way their camping trip had when Cody had gotten his leg caught in an old trap.

A couple of hours after the gang left the Lazy M, Brian McKenna pulled into the parking area. He was warmly welcomed by Brian Hays and Frank Harding. KC Campion wasn't far behind.

"Welcome home, Colonel," Hays said. "What brings you here? Did Miss Cayce know you were coming? She didn't say anything to us."

Harding nodded in agreement. "Nope. She sure didn't. She probably wouldn't have gone off with the Riptide guys if she did."

"Allen, Ryder and Colonel Bozinsky are here?"

"Yes, sir," Hays answered. "They brought her home from King Harbor in the Mimi. It seems some idiot ran into the pickup truck while she was meeting with Malone at Colony Studios. It's going to be a while before it's repaired. They didn't have any pending cases so they decided to fly her up and spend a week or so here."

"They packed a lunch and took off in the Bronco early this morning," Campion told him. "She said something about going up to Hard Luck to do some exploring." He chuckled. "Ryder didn't look too happy but Colonel Bozinsky was as excited as any kid at Christmas and Allen didn't look too displeased."

McKenna grinned at the man. "I'm afraid Captain Ryder doesn't quite share my niece's thirst for adventure and exploration. He's no coward by any means but he does prefer to avoid trouble for the most part."

The other men laughed. Cayce was notorious for exploring ghost towns and long horseback rides in new territory. The city dwellers weren't necessarily up for that though Murray was usually up for almost anything. It was the scientist in him.

Colonel McKenna exited his car and retrieved his suitcase out of the trunk. Campion relieved him of it and took it up to the house, leaving it in the front entry where the colonel could pick it up on his way up to his room.

"Thanks Keith," the officer said. "I appreciate it even if it's not necessary."

"Around here, sir, you're a VIP and VIPs get special treatment," the young cowboy replied with a smile.

McKenna parted company with Campion and went into the house to get settled in his room. He stopped by the kitchen to tell Josefina he was there before he did. He found the housekeeper, Cayce's surrogate mother, putting together a kettle of onion soup. He was greeted warmly but promptly shooed out of her kitchen. He could be as bad as his nephews when it came to raiding her cooking pots.

Cody reached the top of the shaft and stopped to catch his breath. It had been a long, hard climb and he was winded.

The sun was slowly making its way behind the hills. In another hour or so it would be dark. He shuddered at the thought of them trying to get out of these hills, with his injured friend, with no light except for the headlights on the truck. The roads into Hard Luck were pretty rough. He didn't think Nick could take it.

Slowly, and cautiously he looked for the men who had his friends trapped. He was pretty sure knew how many there were and he needed to make sure he knew where all of them were so that he could work his way around them. He hated having to go so slowly but he wasn't going to be of any use to his friends if their enemies caught him - or killed him.

He caught sight of Hernandez, then Barry and a couple of the others. They had to all be close together, he reasoned so he took a chance and dashed from his hiding space to the rocks behind the gang.

So far so good, he thought to himself. But it's a long way to the truck from here.

He took another look and carefully started toward the truck. He made it and opened the door as quietly as he could once he had unlocked it. Sliding into the driver's seat he was dismayed to find that the truck would not start. Getting out he raised the hood and found that someone - and he knew who - had removed the distributor cap thus rendering the vehicle useless.

"Looking for this?"

Startled, Cody looked up to find a nastily grinning Kincaid holding up the missing distributor. Barry stood next to him pointing a pistol at Cody. Both men looked pleased to have found Cody out in the open so to speak, alone and unarmed.

"How did you get out of that mine?" Kincaid asked. "I thought you were barricaded in."

"Would you believe I was never in that mine?" Cody asked, trying to run a bluff.

"No." was the answer he got from Kincaid. "We saw you go in there. Looks like one of your buddies is hurt."

"Yeah. Too bad they barricaded themselves in that mine. They won't be getting out in time to help him - whatever happened to him," Barry sneered.

Desperately, Cody looked for a way out of the situation he found himself in. His friends were counting on him and he wasn't going to let them down. He knew the time was right to make his break when the first two men, Kincaid and Barry were distracted by the voice of Paul Wexler as he called to find out where they were. Seizing the opportunity, Cody slammed his elbow into Barry's face causing his nose to bleed and leaving him doubled over in pain with his hands to his face. Then he swung on Kincaid and caught him up along side of the head with his right fist. Kincaid staggered back, stunned, and Cody ran toward the road leading back to Red Wing.

*************************************************************************************  
Brian McKenna hadn't been unpacked more than ten minutes when Sergeant Jacoby Ellsbury pulled into the yard in his cruiser. Surprised to see the police officer, the colonel went out to meet him.

"Sergeant Ellsbury. What a pleasant surprise."

"Colonel McKenna! Am I glad to see you! Is Miss Cayce here too? I need to see her and her friends from King Harbor."

Sobered by the serious tone of Ellsbury's voice, McKenna answered, "No. They went exploring up around Hard Luck. What's wrong?"

"I got a phone call from a Lieutenant Ted Quinlan in King Harbor a while ago."

"I've met the man," McKenna said. "Not very pleasant but basically a good cop from all I've heard."

"Yeah. Well he called to warn me that some suspected - actually known - art thieves were out on bail and headed this way."

"What's that got to do with Cayce?"

"The men who helped break up the ring are the guys from King Harbor - Allen, Ryder and Bozinsky. These guys are out to eliminate the witnesses. Miss Cayce is in big trouble if they're together if, and when, those guys find out where the Riptide detectives are."

"Oh no," McKenna breathed, turning pale at the thoughts running through his mind. "Are you absolutely sure?"

"I'm afraid so, sir," Ellsbury replied. "Lieutenant Quinlan teletyped their pictures to me. Those men were in town late this morning."

"Let's not panic," Brian said as much to himself as the young police officer in front of him. "Let's see if I can raise Cayce on the radio first. They may be perfectly all right. I pray to God that they're all right."

He ran into the house and went to the radio in his niece's office. He tried several times to raise the group but got no response. He left the office and headed for the den where Cayce kept her firearms in locked drawers and cabinets. Pulling out his key ring he selected the key that would unlock the drawer where the sidearms were stored and chose a .45 automatic. Next he retrieved a holster and put it on his belt. Then he unlocked the drawer where the ammunition was kept. Cayce preferred a revolver but kept a couple of automatics and a dozen or more clips on hand for his benefit. When he had everything he needed he locked the drawers and the cabinet.

He was fighting a rising sense of panic as he exited the house and found McGregor, Harding, Kennelly and Campion, as well as all the other hands, waiting for him. All of them had rifles.

"What do you think you're doing?" the colonel asked.

"Going with you," McGregor replied. "Sergeant Ellsbury told us what's going on and Frank heard you on the radio. It's not like Miss Cayce not to respond. It could be that she's just not near the truck and can't hear the radio but we're not taking any chances."

"That's right," Smokey said. "And we're not letting you two go up to Hard Luck alone without any backup. You don't know what you're walking into."

"Miss Cayce's the best employer I've ever had," KC Campion said as the others nodded. "If she's in trouble we want to help."

Colonel McKenna smiled in spite of his worry. "My niece is blessed to have a crew like you."

He exchanged looks with Ellsbury who nodded.

"We sure don't have time to go back to Sunny Acres and get more officers," he said. "Besides which there are only a handful of us to begin with."

"OK, but Frank," he looked at Harding, "I want you to stay here in case we need the Baroness to airlift somebody out." He turned to McGregor, "Mac, you pick out four or five of these guys to come with us. The rest stay here and attend to business."

McGregor chose Campion, Kennelly, Hays and a couple of the others. They weren't a big crew but they were smart, tough and loyal to their employer. All told there were six of them going on the rescue mission with the colonel and the sergeant. Frank Harding sent a man to the bunkhouse to sit by the radio while he made sure the Baroness, Cayce's helicopter known as The Red Baroness, was warmed up and ready to go if she was needed.

They all piled into the ranch's pickup truck. Colonel McKenna drove while Sergeant Ellsbury sat in the front seat next to him. The other six sat in the back of the truck. Rusty, sensing that Brian was worried about something, jumped into the back of the truck with the rest of the men. Nobody was going to keep him from going where his person's person was going. Nobody even bothered to try.

Inside the mine it was quiet and cool. The men outside had stopped shooting once the cart was in place. Cayce figured they either thought they couldn't hit anything with it and the rocks blocking the way or, more likely, they would wait until dark and then come after them thinking they were unarmed. For the most part they were unarmed except for Cayce's hunting knife which she wore on her belt and the rocks and such that were strewn about the front of the mine. They had their wits as well. Murray was a genius when it came to electronics and computers and Cayce knew the outdoors and how to improvise weapons. They weren't quite as helpless as their enemies thought they were. Cayce was blessed with good eyesight and a fantastic throwing arm with an excellent rate of accuracy.

"Together we're every bit as formidable as either of your partners," she told Boz.

As she finished speaking there was a moan from their stricken friend.

"Nick? Are you OK? Cody's gone for help you know, you'll be out of here before you know it."

Racking her brain for a way to keep them all calm - especially Nick who needed to stay calm in order to keep the venom from going through his system too fast, she removed her jacket, placed it over his chest and shoulders as best she could, and started talking.

"Do you remember the first time we actually met?" she asked him. "That Christmas when I was fourteen and Uncle Brian went after the escaped prisoner?"

The Italian nodded. "Yeah. Skinny little thing with...braids."

Cayce let the skinny remark slide since Nick was in no shape to argue the point with her. She'd pay him back when he was well again.

"I saw you and Cody as I left Uncle Brian's office. You were looking for the passes he had for you for the holidays, remember?"

Again Nick nodded. "Yeah."

"When you got back with him I wasn't home - I had gone to the equestrian center. When Cody found me I'd been crying because I was afraid Uncle Brian had gotten hurt - or killed. I thought he wasn't coming back just the way Mama and Daddy never came back from that canoe trip."

"I thought you guys were going to be in big trouble with the CO at Fort Sam but I guess Uncle Brian intervened and told him you'd come to his rescue when he was late getting back."

"You got bigger passes than you thought you would because you brought him back to me and helped him bring his prisoner - Captain Hunt I think his name was - back."

"Stol-en a-arms. Black...black market."

Cayce reached out to hold Nick's hand and surreptitiously managed to get his pulse at the same time. It was slower but still too fast.

"Yeah. He wound up in prison for a very long time for that."

"Did they ever tell you about that, Boz? How they went looking for Uncle Brian because he was late, and his secretary couldn't find the passes and," she paused to smile affectionately at her middle brother, "because the sergeant said that I was worried because we were supposed to go to my grandfather's?"

"No," Bozinsky said, "but it sounds like something they'd do."

"Yeah, it is. I know I told you I got mad at them when I was dating but they really did do it because they care." Cayce's eyes misted at this point.

"When I turned sixteen Nick, Cody, Uncle Doug and all the guys from that unit got together and threw me a Sweet Sixteen party - they even got one of the guys to sing 'Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen' dressed like Neil Sedaka did back in the sixties when the song was a hit for him."

She grinned at her stricken friend. "How many guys did you strong arm into donating to your 'mascot's' party anyway."

"Mascot?" Murray asked.

"Yup. When Uncle Doug - General Johnson - found out about my parents' accident, and that Uncle Brian was leaving the unit so he could adopt me, the whole unit voted to adopt me as their mascot. Uncle Doug is my unofficial godfather."

At this point Nick's face took on the look of someone who was very sick to his stomach. The two watchdogs lifted him up and leaned him over so he could vomit. It wasn't a pretty sight to behold - or hear - but there wasn't a thing to do about it. Nick was very ill and the nausea and vomiting were two of the symptoms they would have to deal with until they could get him to a hospital.

"Relax Nick," Cayce soothed the Italian who was embarrassed and upset. "There's nothing anyone can do about it until we get you to a doctor. We're not going to scold you or anything."

"Just relax," Murray told his friend. "We're doing what we can for you. I just wish it could be more."

"Not... not your...your fault," Nick's mouth was getting somewhat numb. He was rasping when he breathed as well.

The rancher and the scientist exchanged concerned glances. Murray didn't understand all the symptoms of snakebite - medicine wasn't really his forte but he could see the fright in Cayce's eyes and it worried him. She was doing her best to remain calm but, as time passed, it was getting harder.

The Lazy M crew, Colonel McKenna and Sergeant Ellsbury stopped at the same gas station Cayce and company had stopped at. Donald Pugsley, the owner, knew Cayce and her uncle well and told him that the group had, indeed, stopped there on the way to Hard Luck.

"They left here around ten o'clock, I reckon," Donald Pugsley said. "If they'd left she would have stopped here for gas - and maybe a cold drink and a snack to see her through 'til she got home.

"Did any strangers - a group of about eight men come here asking about them? One of them Hispanic, one redhead. Several of them in their late twenties or so?" Ellsbury asked.

"I didn't see them but Cal might have."

Cal Thomas, the mechanic, confirmed that the men had been there briefly.

"No doubt about it," Ellsbury said to the others. "They know where the King Harbor men are and they don't care that Cayce's with them. The detectives are a threat to their freedom and they'll do anything to eliminate them. Cayce is just collateral damage."

"Let's get a move on," Brian McKenna said. "We've got to get there before anybody gets hurt."

The two men climbed back into the cab of the pickup and they sped out of the parking area of the garage headed north to Hard Luck as fast as they could safely go with the men and dog in the back.

The going was rough for the blond detective. He was dodging men and dodging bullets all while trying to stay on his feet every time he hit a rough spot or stepped on a rock. More than once he fell flat on his face only to scramble to his feet and start running again. He was twenty yards from the main road, on top of one of the ridges he and his friends had passed on their way into Hard Luck. His pursuers were close on his heels when he lost his footing at the top of one of the slopes and went crashing to the ground. His inert body didn't stop rolling until he hit a rock at the bottom of the slope.

"We've got him now," Kincaid said as he raised his pistol for the killing shot.

"How long has Cody been gone," Boz wondered out loud.

Cayce looked at her watch. "I'd say about an hour. I wasn't looking at the time when I went to see him off."

"Is that enough time to get back to Red Wing?"

"More than enough if he got to the Bronco and got it started."

"If he didn't?"

"If he didn't then we're in for a long wait," Cayce said. "A _very _long wait."

She didn't tell Murray but she felt certain Cody was in some kind of trouble. If he'd been successful in getting to the Bronco and getting help there ought to be some kind of disturbance outside the mine but all she heard was the occasional taunt, or threat, from Hernandez and the others with him.

The pickup laden with men and dog arrived at the road leading into Hard Luck just seconds before Cody fell. Attracted by the sound of the gunshots Rusty raced ahead of the group. Seeing his friend fallen and another man pointing a gun at him, Rusty growled deep in his throat. The only thing that kept him from attacking the man was the sound of Brian McKenna's rifle as the colonel fired.

"Yow!" Kincaid yelped as the gun leaped out of his hand.

"Drop it!" McKenna told Barry who was also armed.

Paul Wexler, the third pursuer, dropped his as Smokey Jim Kennelly pointed his rifle at him. He could see the anger in the cowboy's eyes and he wasn't willing to face him - or the growling bundle of fur next to him.

Sergeant Ellsbury handed a pair of handcuffs to Keith Campion who quite happily put them on Wexler while MacGregor handcuffed Barry. Ellsbury put the cuffs on Kincaid with a little more enthusiasm than was absolutely necessary but nobody was going to stop him.

Once the three men were under control Brian went over to where Cody was lying. He was relieved to see that his former subordinate was breathing. Gently, with a little help from Brian Hays, he turned him over to check for injuries. He couldn't find any broken bones but there were some bruises and a scrape or two on his face. He also found a fair sized knot on the side of Allen's head. He gently tapped Cody's cheeks and spoke.

"Lieutenant Allen? Cody? Come on, wake up."

"Is he okay, Colonel?" MacGregor asked.

"I think so," the officer replied. "He took a nasty fall but I think he's coming out of it."

Brian turned his attention back to Cody.

"Come on, Lieutenant, snap out of it."

The fall had left Allen dazed and confused with the wind knocked out of him. From a distance he heard a voice calling his name. His blue eyes fluttered open and found a pair of emerald green eyes, much like Cayce's looking down at him.

"Are you all right?" Brian McKenna asked his former subordinate.

"Colonel McKenna? How? What?"

"Your Lieutenant Quinlan called Sergeant Ellsbury who called the ranch. When he didn't get an answer he drove out. Your art thieves are in the area."

"Not just in the area, sir," Cody sat up quicker than he should have. "They're in Hard Luck. Nick's been bitten by a rattlesnake. Cayce and Boz are with him. They're holed up in an abandoned mine. It was the best place Cayce could think of for us to take shelter."

"How did you get out?" the officer asked him.

"Cayce and I found a ventilation shaft. It's a vertical. I told her to stay behind and take care of Nick while I went for help. The gang spotted me and three of them chased me. I guess they ran off when I fell."

"No they didn't," Smokey Jim Kennelly told him. "We've got them. They're over there." He indicated the pickup truck they had driven from the Lazy M. The three men who had been chasing Cody were sitting in the back of the Lazy M pickup with their hands handcuffed behind their backs while Campion and Brian Hays covered them with rifles.

"Can you get up?" McKenna asked.

"I think so," Cody answered but swayed and put his hand to the side of his head.

"Are you all right?" Brian queried.

"Just a little dizzy. Nothing that's going to keep me from getting my hands on those - those bas-"

"None of that now, Lieutenant. Let's just call them lowlifes."

"Yes, sir," Cody responded. He knew that Colonel McKenna didn't hold with profanity. He thought it was crude, beneath an officer and a poor example - especially when they slipped up and used it around Cayce.

McKenna helped the blond to his feet. Cody swayed again but quickly recovered - as much from sheer determination as from being over his short lived dizzy spell.

Rusty came over to check Cody out. He whined and pawed the man's leg as if to say "show me where my mistress is and I'll take care of the bad guys".

Allen couldn't help but smile. He knew the dog to be extremely protective of Cayce - that's why she always introduced new friends to him.

"I'm getting tired of waiting, girl!" Hernandez shouted at those hiding in the mine. "Come on out before we come in after you!"

"Come ahead if you dare," Cayce shouted back. "You don't know if I'm armed or not. I don't believe in wasting firepower so I may just have a weapon you don't know about!"

She turned to Murray and said, "That ought to keep them back."

Bozinsky wasn't as sure as she was but he wasn't about to dampen her spirits any more than they already were. Her fighting spirit was part of what was keeping Nick alive.

"Get some wood," Hernandez told two of the men who were still with him. "We'll smoke them out."

The remaining gang members gathered up all the brush and wood they could find and piled it to one side of the mine entrance. They weren't taking any chances that Cayce really was armed as she'd tried to convince them. They then set fire to some of the brush and pushed it all in front of the mine entrance and ran back to where Hernandez was waiting. They sat back grinning as they watched the smoke invade the mine. They could hear people coughing and waited for them to yell that they gave up.

They didn't reckon on Cayce McKenna's innate stubbornness or her knowledge of gold mines.

Reaching to take hold of Nick under the arms she said, "Come on Boz, we need to move back away from here." To their stricken friend she said, "Nick, we're going to move you back away from the entrance - near the ventilation shaft that Cody and I found. We have to get away from the smoke. You let us do all the work though, you hear? Just relax. You're heavy but we'll manage - even if it's a couple of inches at a time."

All three were coughing hard from the smoke that managed to find its way into their shelter but that didn't stop tNick's friends from moving him, and themselves, further into the mine.

"There. Where the sunlight is making it's way in," Cayce pointed as she and Murray paused for a moment in their efforts. "The smoke will go up the shaft and we can sit just beyond it and not breathe it in like we've been."

The move was hard on the Italian. It was no easier on his friends but, as Cayce had stated, they got away from the smoke. What little made its way down the tunnel was sucked up by the chimney effect of the ventilation shaft. After a few minutes they were able to breathe easier and their eyes stopped watering.

Hernandez swore when he realized that his "prisoners" had managed to get away from the smoke.

"Make the fire bigger," he told his associates. "That girl doesn't give up easily but we'll smoke her out. Her and her friends."

"No you won't," came the voice of Brian McKenna.

Hernandez whirled around to find a rifle pointed at him and others pointed at his partners.

"Who are you?" he demanded to know. "What right have you got to point a gun at me or my friends?"

"Sergeant Jacoby Ellsbury, Sunny Acres Police Department. I'm here to arrest you - and your friends - for assault with intent to kill and send you back to King Harbor to face the charges related to the art thefts you committed," replied Sergeant Ellsbury who had come up to the group at this point.

At those words the gang tried to make a run for it. When Hernandez tried to take out Colonel McKenna he found an eighty pound bundle of muscle, bone and teeth latched onto his arm. Rusty wasn't putting up with that. The colonel was one of his people and he protected his people at all costs.

"Get him off me! Get him off me!" Hernandez screamed.

"Rusty, let him go," McKenna commanded the dog.

Reluctantly, Rusty obeyed the command, but he didn't back more than a couple of inches away from the colonel's would be assailant. He stood next to Brian, hackles raised and teeth bared, ready to attack again if the need arose.

The remaining members of the gang were quickly brought down by the impromptu posse and bound with rope that they had brought along.

When he was sure everything was under control Colonel McKenna , Cody and a couple of the others ran toward the entrance to the mine and dragged the smoldering brush away from the entrance.

Cody's face was white as he thought about the possibilities of what could have happened to his friends with all that smoke. Nick wasn't that good to begin with but Cayce and Murray could have been harmed as well. He wasn't paying attention to what he was doing and soon found himself with a sleeve on fire. Brian McKenna saw it and whipped off his jacket to wrap around the detective's arm and put out the blaze.

"You fool!" Brian's temper blazed as hot as the flames. "You're lucky you aren't hurt worse! What will Cayce and the fellows say if they see you hurt? Don't Cayce and Colonel Bozinsky have enough to worry about?"

"Yes, sir," a somewhat subdued Cody said. "But we have to get to them! There's no telling what's happened!"

"I know, Lieutenant, believe me I know."

By now the others had pulled the burning brush away and were starting to remove the rocks. When there was enough space for them to squeeze through - Cayce had built a very good barricade - McKenna and Allen went into the mine while the others worked at removing the rest of the barricade.

"Here! They were here!" Cody said when they got to the spot where he had left them.

All that was left at the site was footprints and evidence of something, or someone, being dragged further back. Then Brian spotted Cayce's jacket which they had lost when she and Bozinsky had moved Nick further into the mine to get away from the smoke.

They proceeded to follow the trail the trio had left behind and called to Cayce as they moved along.

From their vantage point in the back, Cayce and Murray could hear them talking. They could hear the sound of their barricade being torn down. What they didn't know was who was doing the tearing down and the talking.

The young woman took her knife out of its sheath and found a couple of good sized rocks for Boz to use as weapons it if came to that. She was poised and ready to defend her friends like a wildcat when the two men came around the last bend in the corner.

Cody was in the lead, having had the idea that he knew where they had gone. He saw the gleam of the knife blade in the sun and spoke up quickly to alleviate his "sister's" fears.

"Cayce? It's me - Cody."

"Cody?"

The knife was quickly put away and she threw herself at him to envelop him in a hug.

"You're okay? I was getting worried. Did you get help?"

"You might say that," Brian McKenna stepped into the open so his niece could see him.

"Uncle Brian!" Cayce threw herself at her beloved uncle and started crying on his shoulder.

He hugged her back, murmuring in English and Irish as he stroked her hair.

"Nick's been bitten by a ratler," Cayce told her uncle.

"I know, Lieutenant Allen told me. How bad is it?"

"Bad," she replied. "Very bad. He needs medical attention - fast!"

Cody was already at Nick's side. His face was every bit as pale as his friends'. He could be heard, speaking in rough tones, urging Nick to hang on. Nick had to be tough and strong. He was to hang in there.

"You three stay with him," McKenna ordered. "I'm going to send for Frank and the Baroness. We'll have Ryder out of here, and in a hospital, in no time."

He handed Cayce his jacket to wrap around Nick. it was a better cover than hers had been.

"Wrap this around him and use yours for a pillow. I'll be back with more help in a couple of minutes."

His niece did as instructed and settled down to wait - for a much shorter time - with Murray's arm wrapped around her shoulders. Cody was holding Nick's hand and didn't even notice the colonel's departure.

"Nick? Can you hear me? Help is here. Colonel McKenna found out we were in trouble and he came with a posse from the Lazy M - and Sergeant Ellsbury. Those guys are in custody right now. And Rusty's already given Hernandez something to think about. He attacked the colonel but he didn't land a blow. Rusty's really protective of all of us."

He swallowed hard, "You remember Francine - that nitwit I thought I liked with her dog Bucky? Bucky was a problem and he made me think I wouldn't like dogs but Rusty's different. He looks out for us - all of us."

A moment later Colonel McKenna returned with Smokey and KC right behind him. They had a bottle of water with them and used it to belatedly clean the area on Nick's arm where he'd been bitten.

"Better late than never," Smokey said as he poured the water over it and briefly loosened the restrictive band on the Italian's arm.

"Frank will be here, with the Baroness in a few minutes," Brian told his niece. "We're going to get Nick outside and fly him to the hospital in Aurora. Once we're airborn we'll notify the hospital of the situation and they'll be ready for us with antivenom and whatever else is needed."

He took his niece by the hand and pulled her up and close to him. Murray managed to scramble to his feet as the two cowboys knelt next to his friend and lifted him into their arms. They carried him outside with Cody right on their heels.

Outside, twilight was falling but Cayce could see the friendly, familiar faces of half her ranch hands and Sergeant Ellsbury of the Sunny Acres PD. She managed a smile for them as they told her how happy they were to see her safe.

It wasn't long before the motor of the Lazy M's helicopter was heard. Frank Harding landed about fifty yards from the group and Nick was quicklly loaded on board by Smokey, Brian and KC. The stricken man was made as comfortable as they could make him before the two cowboys disembarked and joined the impromptu posse to watch them leave and then drive the prisoners to the nearest town - Red Wing - to await transport back to King Harbor.

A gurney was waiting, with a pair of orderlies, a doctor and a nurse, when they landed at the hospital in Aurora. Nick was whisked away, into a treatment room while his friends - family - had to deal with the paperwork and wait for word of his condition.

In the end, Cody was helpless with the paperwork. He couldn't settle down, or concentrate, long enough to fill it out. Colonel McKenna and Murray had to take care of it. Brian McKenna had a near photographic memory when it came to his family and the men who served under him, so he remembered Nick's date of birth, blood type and such. Boz knew of his allergies to certain things that had recently come to light. There was one medication that he wasn't allergic to, per se, but he was allergic to the coating. He'd had a very bad reaction to it a few months ago while being treated for bronchitis.

It was a good three hours, - three long, tense, nerve wracking hours - before the doctor treating Nick came to see them. While they were waiting Colonel McKenna made Cody get his arm looked at. It wasn't serious but the doctor cleaned it and covered it with a sterile bandage to be on the safe side. After that, while they waited for word on Nick's condition, Cody paced the waiting room like a caged tiger while Cayce fidgeted, trying to read a magazine or two but unable to concentrate. Brian was hard pressed, with Frank's help, to keep the two of them somewhat calm. The whole group got to their feet anxiously as the doctor approached.

"How is he?" Brian asked.

"He'll live," Doctor Carol Englender said. "It was touch and go for a while, but he'll be fine. I expect some psychological effects for a while - it's to be expected having been so sick and close to dying - but they shouldn't last."

"When can we see him?" Cayce asked even before Cody could open his mouth to do the same.

"Right now if you like but only for a couple of minutes." The doctor smiled. "He's anxious to see Cody and Cayce and Boz? - but he's still very weak and we'll be keeping him here for at least a couple of days."

Cody was first to enter the room and approach Nick. Everyone could see that the blond was on the verge of collapse - he'd pushed himself and held himself together for so long.

Nick was lying in a bed, pale and still, but still alive. His beathing sounded much better but it shook Cody to the core of his being to know how close he had come to losing the "best friend I ever had".

With a trembling hand he reached out to adjust the sheet and blanket that covered Nick just about to his shoulders. It was just enough to rouse his friend from the light doze he was in.

"Cody? 'Zat you?"

"Yeah, it's me," the blond replied barely suppressing his tears of relief.

"Is Cayce ok? She was really scared."

""I'm right here, Nick, and so are Boz, Uncle Brian and Frank." She smiled at her "brother". "You're going to be fine.

"Don't feel fine. Feel sick."

"You probably will for a while," the blond told his buddy. "That snake got you good and it took so long for us to be able to get you here. Dr. Englender says you're going to be fine."

"Ok?"

"Who me?." the blond tried to chuckle. "I'm fine. You're the one that's sick, remember?"

"You're upset," Nick was alert to his buddy's emotions.

"Upset? Me? What do I have to be upset about?"

"Because I got bitten and we got trapped by those rats - Cayce too - and you had to leave me behind to try and get help."

"You know him so well," Cayce said. "He's been blaming himself all afternoon. He thinks he was too slow in getting help."

"Which is utter nonsense," Brian McKenna stated firmly with a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "When we found him your art thieves had chased him until he lost his footing at the edge of a bluff. He fell and was stunned. They were about to shoot him when we caught up with them."

Nick looked Cody over anxiously. "What happened to your arm?" he asked noticing the bandage that had been placed over the minor burn.

"It's nothing," Cody answered.

"It's nothing that could have been worse," Brian McKenna stated. "Your 'friends' tried to smoke you all out of the mine. The lieutenant, here, got too close to the burning brush and his sleeve caught fire."

"Code?"

"I'm fine, Nick," Cody said his voice finally betraying him. "I'm fine and you're gonna be fine."

Tears slipped from the blond's eyes as the tension began to slip away.

"I almost lost you Nick," he sobbed. "I almost lost you and Boz and Cayce."

Nick reached out for his buddy's hand while Cayce and Murray wrapped their arms around his shoulders and Brian McKenna motioned for Frank to leave the room. He knew Frank wouldn't make fun of Cody and the others but it was a private moment between three friends and it was better if he wasn't there. Frank willingly stepped out and went back to the waiting room. When they were ready he would fly the McKennas, Allen and Bozinsky back to the Lazy M where everyone would be waiting anxiously to hear how Nick was.

Fifteen minutes later the storm was over. Cody had cried his tension and guilt away and was ready - well not ready but willing - to leave his partner overnight.

"We'll arrange for his favorite nurse to be on his case tonight," Brian said with a twinkle in his eye.

Nick's pale face lit up. That could only mean that Cayce's cousin, Erika Laasanen, was on duty and assigned to him. A relapse might be in order.

Cody saw the look and grinned in spite of himself. If anything could cheer Nick up, while facing a hospital stay, it was having Erika on duty as his nurse.

The tension he'd felt all day disappeared and he started laughing. The laugh that Cayce and all of his other friends knew meant he was truly was infectious and before long before the whole group was laughing. A moment later said nurse walked through the door and shooed everybody out.

"The patient needs to rest. You can see him again tomorrow."

It was a month before Nick was allowed to go home to King Harbor. He'd come so close to dying, from the snake bite, that the doctor kept him in the hospital for two weeks and then sent him to the Lazy M for two weeks to finish his recuperation.

Murray kept himself busy feeding the chickens, collecting eggs, working in Josefina's garden (and Cayce's aunt's garden) and doing her bookeeping for her. He ran a few errands in the local area as well. He even took over scheduling lessons, visits from the farrier and such that Cayce was always pressed for time on. With Cayce's permission he did some background checks using her phone line connecting with the Roboz and his own computer. The agency could use the money toward Nick's hospital bills. They adamantly refused to let the McKennas pay them for him.

Cayce had her usual 4-H meetings, barn chores, barrel racing practice and training sessions with her students and new racers.

Brian put Cody to work helping him chop wood, stack it, doing minor repairs on fences and such. By taking a trip to the auto parts store they were able to do oil changes on a couple of the ranch's vehicles and replace some worn tires. A couple of lightbulbs and other small parts were installed and all vehicles given a good wash and vacuum despite the ranch hands protests that it would spoil perfectly good working vehicles to be so clean.

The toughest job was giving Rusty a bath. As Cayce said - Rusty loved to be brushed but giving him a bath was a ten man job. The current, and former, army officers managed but they were a mess when it was done, Rusty was miserable because now he had to go lay down on the porch and do nothing while he dried. He knew well the scolding he would get if he dared go romping in the muddy stable yard with Doc or any of the other horses. And he wasn't stupid - he knew that chasing the barn cats was also out of the question. Nick, sitting in a chair in the back yard, observed, and laughed until he cried as he watched the two men at work.

When he wasn't sleeping, Nick was told to "park it" in one of the chairs on the porch with a good book or just observe what was happening around the house and the barn. He hated it but he knew that everyone would be on his case if he didn't obey orders.

When the day came that the Riptide Detective Agency was ready to go back to King Harbor and their normal routine the two McKennas and all of the Lazy M hands were there to see them off. With hugs for Cayce and handshakes for the men (and a hug or two for Rusty from Boz) they climbed into the Screaming Mimi with a promise to call as soon as they landed - and to thank Lieutenant Quinlan for tipping Sergeant Ellsbury off about their art thieves. After all, it wasn't his fault the men had gotten out on bail and if he hadn't called Sunny Acres nobody would have known they were in trouble.

The big pink helicopter rose slowly from the ground and headed Southeast toward the coast. Three months later, Cayce, Brian and the other members of the posse appeared at the trial of the art thieves. The courts, apparently chagrined at having let these dangerous men out to wreak havoc and try to eliminate the witnesses, pushed the trial date up. With the testimony of the detectives, Lieutenant Quinlan, Tammi, Kirk Dooley and the Lazy M crew - including one Lieutenant Colonel Brian McKenna, Hernandez and company were convicted and sent to prison for a long time.


End file.
